Senate Judiciary Postpones Todd Blanche's Attorney General Vote as Two Republicans Demand Trump's Tax-Audit Shield Be Undone

Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley postponed a markup on Todd Blanche's nomination to be attorney general scheduled for the morning of July 30, 2026, after Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina withheld support. Both want written commitments narrowing a settlement Blanche brokered, announced in May, that created a $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund and extended audit protections to Trump and his family for tax returns filed before the settlement. Cornyn said DOJ has not committed to keeping those protections from reaching parties beyond the lawsuit or agencies other than the IRS.

Republicans can lose only one vote on the committee if all Democrats oppose the nomination, giving the two senators effective control over whether it advances. Tillis called the administration's posture 'about as politically tone deaf' as any he had seen and said the fund's continued existence suggested earlier assurances that it was inoperative were not accurate.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had 'no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd's name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office.' Both senators' terms expire Jan. 3. Majority Leader John Thune said he still saw 'a path forward.'